Ahead of polls, MLA hostel searched in Chennai

With just a few days left for the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, a team of officials from the flying squad of the Election Commission along with Income Tax officials carried out raids in Tamil Nadu MLA’s Hostel in Omandurar Government Estate.

HIGHLIGHTS

Officials from the flying squad of the EC along with IT officials carried out the raids

The raids took place on Sunday night

The officials entered the premises at 10 pm and carried out searches till 12:30 am

With just days a few days left for the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, a team of officials from the flying squad of the Election Commission along with Income Tax officials carried out raids in the Tamil Nadu MLA’s Hostel in Omandurar Government Estate on Sunday night.

The raids were carried out in the 10th floor at the C Block of the hostel.

The officials entered the premises at 10 pm and carried out searches till 12:30 am. A team of 30 officials was involved in the joint exercise by the EC and the IT sleuths. The searches were undertaken based on an alleged tip-off that cash meant for distribution to voters was stored in the rooms.

Sources in the IT department said rooms of Tamil Nadu revenue minister RB Udhayakumar and two others were searched. However, it is not clear whether the team seized any cash or incriminating documents from the minister’s room.

Last week, the IT department conducted raids at multiple locations in the state over suspicions that cash was distributed among voters. Raids were conducted in the premises of PSK Engineering Construction Company, a contractor firm in Chennai, Namakkal, and Tirunelveli.

Polls for the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat in Puducherry would be held in a single phase on April 18th, the second phase of the Loksabha polls.